Where Was Your Favorite High School Hangout in Texarkana?

When I was driving by Arkansas High School the other day I remembered hanging out in the parking lot next to the football practice field. The parking lot is no longer there, but the memories are, and they suddenly came flooding back to me.

I drove a '67 Chevrolet Bel Air and I would park it near the back of the lot and watch all my friends arrive for school. Those were some good old days. Now I wonder where all the teenage hangouts are in Texarkana today and where you used to hang out back in the day?

When I wasn't in school, I would drive out to the Lake Texarkana (now Wright Patman Lake) on Sunday afternoons and hang out with some friends there. We would hang out at a beach called Crippled Children's Beach, which to this day I never understood why it was called that. Please let me know if you know why.

There was also the North Shore Beach area. Unfortunately, both beach areas were eventually closed and to this day the road is barricaded and has returned back to a wooded area. I wasted so much gas circling around the beach listening to tunes in my car like Boston, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Led Zeppelin. I had some of the best times in those days.

I also remember hanging out in a parking lot on State Line Avenue and my buddy here at the radio station, Wes, says he also remembers hanging out in the old Safeway parking lot. And if you want to go even further back, I recall seeing high school students hanging out at the old A&W at the corner of Hickory, and also at the one on State Line Avenue. But neither one is there any longer.

But, I must admit that my all-time favorite hangout was likely at the local radio station, KOSY, where I was worked on the weekends when I was in high school. It was located downtown near Guy's Orange Stand by the old St. Michael Hospital. My radio mentor was "Loveable Larry Kent," -- an all around terrific guy.

And that's how the story of my radio career began -- from hanging out as a teenager at the radio station.

Photo by Pat O' Briant

Today's generation still has their Texarkana hangouts. I just don't know where they are. But one thing remains the same -- growing up in Texarkana is what you make of it, good or bad. I will cherish these memories for the rest of my life.

So watch the short video below and tell me where your favorite place to hang out was when you were in high school. Send me your answers and perhaps even some photos to our Facebook page. I'll write another blog with your answers very soon.